A blog for the United States branch of the global Centre for Fortean Zoology

At the beginning of the 21st Century monsters still roam the remote, and sometimes not so remote, corners of our planet. It is our job to search for them. The Centre for Fortean Zoology [CFZ] is - we believe - the largest professional, scientific and full-time organisation in the world dedicated to cryptozoology - the study of unknown animals. Since 1992 the CFZ has carried out an unparalleled programme of research and investigation all over the world. Since 2009 we have been running the increasingly popular CFZ Blog Network, and although there has been an American branch of the CFZ for over ten years now, it is only now that it has a dedicated blog.

Monday, 31 August 2015

1965: A witness in Huanuco, Peru, reports a 5 a.m. UFO
sighting. According to his report, one humanoid with a "large head"
emerged from the landed craft, made various hand gestures,, then reentered the
UFO and "took off straight up at high speed."

In the Hockomock Swamp in Massachussetts, a mystery bird has been reported since 1971. It is said to look like something from prehistoric times and is black in color. Its wingspan has been estimated from 8'=12'. This swamp is also supposedly tenanted by Bigfoots.This swamp extends for 16, 950 acres.

The Toxodon was a prehistoric mammal that is supposed to have died out 16,000 or so years ago. It was certainly coeval with humans, for arrows have been found among its remains. However, it may have survived much longer than is generally thought. An artifact from Peru, dating from 100-300 AD, looks as though it may represent a toxodon. This does not, of course, indicate that it has survived into modern times

Jason Colavito comments on Akhbar al-zaman a history of Egypt written in the Middle Ages containing a body of legends, including those of Giants.The text of this book is also on the Colavito website.now read on.....

The CFZ's Weird Weekend has been such a success that next year there will be a second Weird Weekend held in the more northerly regions of England. In charge of this will be the well-known cryptozoologist Glen Vaudry.

This is one of the most curious sea serpent accounts on which I have come, because of the coloration of the animal concerned. In 1939 it was seen by the ship Kurumba off the coast of Western Australia in the Indian Ocean. It was yellow/brown with blotches of blue, green and yellow covering it. For those who try to categorize sea serpent sightings, this must be something of a challenge.

Let us hie ourselves to the state of Missouri and the year 1997. There C. Algood was in a cabin when he had a rather frightening experience. Something was trying to get in through the door. What was this something? C> Algood did not know. His cousin, also in the cabin, saw it having a look in through the window. Its appearance was not reassuring. It was hairless, its eyes were beasy and it displayed sharp teeth.The unidentified creature did not manage to enter the cabin. What was it? Your guess is as good as mine.

Around 2006, a strange doglike creature was reported in Androscoggin County, Maine. It stared with its blue eyes at people. Then it or something like it was killed by a car. at Turner. There was considerable doubt expressed as to what it actually was. DNA analysis said it was some kind of dog. However, doubt was expressed. It had five toes, which dogs are not supposed to have.

It was variously suggested that it was a hyena, a wolverine or a fisher (by which I mean the animal so-called, not a hapless passing angler).

My own guess, for what it's worth, is that it was a dog of some sort, a peculiar crossbreed. The extra toe might have been a deformity. Crossbred dogs can take so many forms that it is quite plausible that their doggishness (yes, that is a genuine word) may not always be recognized easily.

Friday, 28 August 2015

1976: Three witnesses hear "a long scream like sound" lasting 45-60 seconds, while parked in a
pickup truck in wooded Fulton County, Illinois, at 3 a.m. They don not see the
source of the cry, and wait 33 years before reporting it to the GCBRO's website
as a possible Bigfoot encounter.

Thursday, 27 August 2015

2015: A personal note this time around. Today, my latest
crypto book from Schiffer Publications, Strange West Virginia Monsters,
"drops" on Amazon for sale. You can pick it up for $16.99 there or
from the publisher's website—OR, while nine brand-new author's copies last, you
can grab one for $8.50 (50% off retail) from my Amazon seller's page:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aag/main?ie=UTF8&seller=A1C4EQOHLVAM99.

Needless to say, I highly recommend it for anyone with a
special interest in cryptids of the Mountain State, or "monsters" in
general. Enjoy!

Monday, 24 August 2015

2011: A couple driving through Ford County, Kansas, at 8:47
p.m. report "a large dark brown/black
figure of at least 8-9 feet in height ran across the road in front of our car
about 100 feet in front of us." It runs on two legs and vanishes into a
dark roadside field.

1967: Witness Stanley Moxon of Joyceville, Ontario Canada,
reports a 4 a.m. sighting of three humanoid creatures, each three to four feet
tall, dressed in white outfits and translucent helmets, "collecting
samples" near a grounds disc-shaped UFO perched on three legs.

Friday, 21 August 2015

565 A.D.: Saint Columba reportedly saves a swimmer from a
hungry water beats in the River Ness, by the sole power of speech and faith.
Often cited as the first appearance of the Loch Ness Monster, this event,
perhaps entirely mythical, allegedly occurred some distance from the actual
loch.

Thursday, 20 August 2015

1955: The Sutton family of Kelly, Kentucky, endures their
first night of alleged harassment and attacks by several 3-foot tall creatures
sporting large heads, big ears, large luminous eyes, long arms, clawlike hands,
and luminescent torsos, sometimes floating in midair. A UFO sighting is also
reported, as the Suttons respond with gunfire. Incidents reportedly continue on
August 22.